Springtime on the homestead means more daylight, and happier chickens. Happier chickens make more eggs, and thus, we have an overabundance to deal with. In order to have plenty in the fall and winter months, water glassing eggs is the perfect solution.
What is Water glassing Eggs?
Water glassing eggs involves submerging clean, unwashed, eggs in a pickling lime and water solution to seal off the shell and preserve them for 12-18 months. The result is perfectly fresh, unspoiled eggs, just like they were the day the hen laid them. Sometimes properly water glassed eggs are still fresh even after two years. Homestead folks have been using this preservation method since the 1800s to capitalize on the springtime egg abundance year round.
There are a few different solutions that work for water glassing, such as sodium silicate and water, but today I am going to share a method for using hydrated lime, which is also known as pickling lime.
Tips:
You can fit approximately 16-18 eggs per half gallon jar.
Use your cleanest eggs for water glassing. I usually set aside the spotless ones and wait to water glass until I have enough of them. We wash the really dirty ones and store them in the refrigerator. If we keep up with cleaning the coop, and adding fresh straw or bedding, we have a lot more water glass candidates.
If you don’t have a water filter, and you only have access to chlorinated water, you can leave an open jar of water out on the counter for 24 hours. This will cause the chlorine to evaporate.
Use an airtight vessel. Oxygen is the enemy of nearly all food preservation methods, and water glassing is no exception!
Use 1 ounce of pickling lime per quart of water. You can do this in any quantity. So if you have 50 dozen eggs, get yourself some big old food grade buckets and whole lot of lime!
FAQ
Why should you preserve eggs?
We don’t usually think of eggs as a seasonal food, but they actually are. A hen’s ovulation coincides with the length of the day. In the winter, when the daylight hours are short, hens lay little to no eggs. Chickens reach their peak egg laying production when the daylight hours are longest. Heat can also affect ovulation, so springtime, between April and June, yields the highest egg volume here on our homestead. In order to avoid buying several dozen eggs a week in the middle of winter, it makes sense to preserve them when production is up.
Can you water glass store bought eggs?
Unfortunately, no, you cannot water glass store bought eggs. When hens lay eggs, they are covered with a protective “bloom” to keep the eggs fresher longer. This is the reason you can find a pile of eggs hidden somewhere on your homestead after a few weeks, and they are still perfectly fresh and edible. Eggs from the grocery store have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, so the bloom is no longer in tact. The lime solution in water glassing works with the bloom to preserve the eggs, so sanitized eggs are a definitee no-go for this method. Try freezing the eggs instead.
Can you use tap water to water glass eggs?
Avoid chlorinated and fluorinated water when water glassing eggs. Ideally you would have access to filtered water that still has all of the minerals intact. If you are on a well, tap water will work just fine. If you are on city water with chlorine and fluoride, opt for a filter, such as the Berkey Water Filter for water glassing eggs.
Can you boil water glass eggs?
You can hard boil eggs that have been water glassed, but it is important to note that you should first poke a small hole in the shell. The hydrated lime solution works by sealing off the egg, and filling all of the pores of the eggshell, so it could actually explode if you don’t first create a release for the pressure.
What is hydrated lime?
Hydrated lime aka calcium hydroxide is a dry and colorless white powder that is most commonly used in steel manufacturing. It is also known as pickling lime or slaked lime.
Can I use garden lime for water glassing eggs?
Garden lime is calcium carbonate, whereas pickling lime is calcium hydroxide. Since the hydroxide is more alkaline, pickling lime is recommended for water glassing.
Is it normal for the lime to settle on the bottom?
Yes, settling lime is a normal part of the process. You may be tempted to stir the solution back up, but don’t do it! You risk cracking the eggs and ruining the whole batch. There is still plenty of lime in the water to preserve the eggs, so no need to worry.
Are water glassed eggs safe to eat?
As long as the process was done properly, water glassed eggs are perfectly safe. Make sure to use clean jars and utensils and clean unwashed eggs. If an egg has gone bad, you will know. The smell will be way off. You can also use the float test to ensure the egg is still fresh.
Do they taste different than fresh eggs?
No! That is the best part about water glassed eggs. Freezing and dehydrating eggs changes the texture of the eggs, whereas water glassing keeps them exactly as they were the day the hen laid them.
When can I preserve farm fresh eggs?
Do you have an overabundance of eggs in the winter for some reason? No worries! You can use water glassing anytime. The eggs also don’t need to be harvested fresh that day. You can wait until you have enough clean ones saved up and do a big preserving day anytime!
Ingredients you will need:
1 ounce pickling lime
1 quart filtered water
Clean unwashed eggs (Eggs that have no poop or mud, and the “bloom” still fully intact)
Equipment:
Airtight Food grade bucket or half gallon glass jar
Kitchen scale (to weigh the pickling lime)
What types of eggs can you use:
Chicken Eggs
Quail Eggs
Duck Eggs
Any eggs can we water glassed!
How To Water Glass Eggs:
Measure out 1 ounce of pickling lime on your kitchen scale.
Add the pickling lime to a clean half gallon jar and fill it up halfway (one quart) with filtered water.
Whisk the lime into the water until it is fully incorporated.
Carefully add the eggs pointy side down.
Add an airtight lid to prevent oxygen from getting in, and prevent the water from evaporating.
Store the water glassed eggs in a cool dark place.
How Long Do They Last?
You can store water glassed eggs in a cool dark place for up to a year. Some people have had success for much longer.
Water Glassing Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 ounce pickling lime
- 1 quart filtered water
- Clean unwashed eggs Eggs that have no poop or mud, and the “bloom” still fully intact
Instructions
- Measure out 1 ounce of pickling lime on your kitchen scale.
- Add the pickling lime to a clean half gallon jar and fill it up halfway (one quart) with filtered water.
- Whisk the lime into the water until it was fully incorporated.
- Carefully add the eggs pointy side down.
- Add an airtight lid to prevent oxygen from getting in, and prevent the water from evaporating.
- Store the water glassed eggs in a cool dark place.
Notes
- You can store water glassed eggs in a cool dark place for up to a year. Some people have had success for much longer.
Gayle Kane says
Good morning ๐ I don’t have my own chickens so I found a local farmer. Since I’m brand new to this process I want to make sure I clearly understand just how perfectly clean the eggs need to be. The farmer’s wife assured me the eggs were not washed. She obviously did not understand when I said they needed to be clean. Out of 3 dozen that I prepaid her for, I was only able to use 10 eggs that appeared ‘perfectly clean’ to me. I have only 7 more eggs that have the teeniest, tiniest specks on them that ‘might’ be dirt or poo residue. It’s so little I jus can’t be sure. The rest are obviously smudged and dirty. The 7 questionables look good to me but I want to be sure. Thank you so much for any help or advice!
Lisa says
Hi Gayle, they need to be perfectly clean so I wouldn’t use ones that could have poop or possibly have poop.
deb says
If there is any poop or dirt on the eggs, you can just remove with using a damp cloth to wipe off.
Anne says
I wipe the dust and dirt off the eggs with my hand or a dry cloth. Any eggs that have stuff that wonโt brush off easily I wash and refrigerate and use. All the eggs are naturally going to have lots of normal bacteria on them and it is not harmful. This will include the bacteria that you have naturally on your hands. Waterglassing is not a sterile process and you donโt need to worry about the normal bacteria which is ever present (and necessary) in all of our lives.
Valerie Best says
How long do unwashed eggs last in a refrigerator?
Michele says
LOTS of great questions here that we need answers to. PLEASE someone answer them!!
Lynn Stevens says
I I am going to water glass my eggs in quart Mason jars. After many months when I open the jars can I take out all of the eggs in that jar ( 12 ) and rinse them and put them in my refrigerator to use over the next week OR should I just take out two for my breakfast leave the rest in the jar and take out more as needed.
Michele says
We REALLY WANNA know this too!!
Lisa says
You can take them out as you need them, and leave the rest!
Kim says
Thanks Lisa, and can I keep adding new eggs and lime/water since there is still room in the jar!
Debbie ingram says
Hi I have a question about watering glassing eggs. I made the mistake and used tap water .
Can I take my eggs out of them lime
tap water and start over with filtered water. Please respond asap. I did this 10 hrs ago.
Can I start over
Jane says
Help please!! I found a cracked egg in my water glassing bucket, when I went to pick it up it broke, dripping into the bucket. Can I continue using the same water or are those eggs all ruined now? TIA
Kari Hayes says
I have the same question. We just went to check on our eggs, one was cracked and when we picked it up it broke into the water. I will obviously change the water because it stinks, but are the rest of the eggs still good?
Mary says
Not sure what you did, since this was almost 2 months ago. Personally, I would have removed all the eggs and rinsed and used them. I was thinking you could rinse them all off and start over with fresh lime water, but rinsing removes the bloom and you need that intact for this to work. Curious what you decided to do?
Julie says
I have a similar question. A couple of my eggs in separate containers cracked. The solution is murky and yellowish compared to other containers (those still look the same as day one). Can I rescue the remaining eggs by removing the cracked eggs and replacing the solution? Or is the entire batch a loss? Note; I believe they were unharmed for several months previous to cracking, which leads me to believe the rest would have been well coated with lime solution before being exposed to the cracked egg.
Lee says
I’ve been reading these awesome questions and answers, but I have the same question concerning cracked eggs. I’m glassing quail eggs and they crack differently than chicken eggs. I’ve found a few that are cracked and filled with the lime solution (obviously trash). Is the whole batch ruined now?
Vin says
I water glasses eggs last year…two floated to the top and had cracks and went bad. Are ll the other eggs bad as well?
Thanks
Mary says
I have read that if one goes bad, you have to throw them all out. Itโs one of the reasons I use multiple jars instead of one large container. That said, I never throw something out that looks and smells fine. I just crack into a separate bowl before cooking. Depends on how comfortable you are with that level of risk.
NE says
My understanding is that you should always candle the eggs before water glassing. You are looking for any small cracks or holes, as this will cause them to go bad.
Karry says
I usually leave my eggs on the counter. Do eggs that have been water glassed have to be refrigerated or can they stay in the counter like fresh eggs?
Mary says
Once you remove the eggs you should wash off the lime solution. They now need to be refrigerated since you have removed the bloom by washing.
Mary says
I re-read your comment and realize Iโm not actually sure what you are asking. Are you wondering if the preserved eggs should be put in the refrigerator while still in the lime solution? Because that is not necessary. The point of preserving in the lime water is so they donโt have to be refrigerated. Just keep them on a dark shelf or cupboard.
Margo D says
See Maryโs answer right above your question.
Ashley kincaid says
I’m new to this. Please explain.
Do I need to store in the amount of eggs we use? If I store in a big container, are the rest of eggs ok, they we dont use? When its time to use said eggs, do I take them all out and place back on counter? In fridge?
Mary says
I donโt quite understand all of what you are asking, but Iโll try to answer. You can take eggs out to use as needed. The rest of the eggs will be fine, as long as you use clean utensils and do not contaminate the water in the process. Once you remove the eggs you should wash off the lime solution. They now need to be refrigerated since you have removed the bloom by washing. Hope this helps!
Debbi says
Can I waterglass eggs that have been refrigerated?
Jo says
Debbie,
No, you must find a farmer and request eggs that are unwashed and unrefrigerated. These can last up to 2 years. Do not put in the refrigerator ever. Eggs can sit out on your counter for 6 to 9 months if they have the bloom still intact. Wash it off the egg before using.